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S&P Puts Hasbro on Downgrade Watch

The ratings agency casts a wary eye on the toy manufacturer after the company posts disappointing preliminary results.

Standard & Poor's announced it has placed Hasbro's (NASDAQ:HAS) BBB+ rating on its watch list for a potential downgrade. The ratings agency indicated concern with the toy company's recent operating performance and its increased leverage.

S&P said in its announcement that it expects that the latter "increased to about 2.3x in 2012 from 2.2x in 2011." As a result, it continued, "we believe Hasbro's ability to drive leverage under our 2x threshold appears less likely over the intermediate term."

Last week, the toy maker released preliminary 2012 results that showed declines in both revenue and net profit. The firm also said it will reduce its workforce by roughly 10%.

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Eric has been writing about stocks and finance since the mid-1990s, when he lived in Prague, Czech Republic. Over the course of a varied career, he has also been a radio newscaster, an investment banker, and a bass player in a selection of rock and roll bands. A native New Yorker, he currently lives in Los Angeles.